False bomb threats cause mass evacuations in Russia

Tens of thousands of people in Russia have been evacuated in the last few few weeks due to false bomb threats.

Approximately 3,000 people have recently been evacuated in Moscow in Russia after several bomb threats targeted at preschools, schools, business buildings and shopping centers on Monday, reports Russian news agency Interfax.

A source with insight into the police investigation tells the news agency that most of the bombed buildings were searched without any explosives being found. Even in St. Petersburg, several schools were evacuated after anonymous bomb threats on Monday, Interfax says.

Recently, several fake bomb threats have caused mass evacuations in Russia. A few weeks ago, around 50,000 people were evacuated in Moscow after 300 bomb threats, Interfax reports.

Most of the threats have come via e-mail and have a similar types of threats, according to Russian media.

A similar series of fake bomb threats was affecting Russia in 2017, which caused great financial damage.